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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Sweet teaser from Strictly Business

Strictly Business releases this week and I have a little teaser for you and the story excerpt where Susannah is just beginning to figure out something is up at the homefront. The official release date for Strictly Business is June 6th but you can preorder it now.

Susannah Gibson’s future is secure as an heiress to a Texas oil baron. A hefty trust fund has allowed her to live out her dreams and pursue every desire of her heart, but one. All that money got in the way of finding love. She and her three sisters had a collection of fortune hunters that could stretch the length of Texas, but she vowed not to settle for anything less than love.

Time ran out for her and her sisters when her parents demanded grandchildren and the Gibson sisters were given an ultimatum: Get pregnant or lose their trust fund, forcing Susannah to make an unwelcome choice at the worst possible time.

Susannah propositions Colt Vance, a travelling business man on a trip to the Caribbean. He jumps at the offer of red hot sex, with no strings attached, but how long can she keep things strictly business? Every day she spends in his bed she has her heart on the line. The supernova hot sex is addicting but will he stick around when he finds out what she really wants?

Story Excerpt:

Susannah pretended to snore, peeking through sunglasses covering her slitted eyes at the dark-haired man coming straight for her. She felt his cool shadow cover her body.

If she dared to open her mouth, her moment of privacy was over.

“You’re going to burn if you plan on sleeping out here.”

Why didn’t he just go away? Some people couldn’t take the hint.

Angry only began to describe her mood. She was irritable as all get out.

“Who are you? My mother?” she snapped, not in the mood for playful banter, not in the mood for any of this.

“No, the name’s Ethan. I don’t think we’ve met yet.” He held out his hand to shake.

She sat up warily, regarding him with a new respect. He wasn’t one to back down from a fight or be easily intimidated, and she could respect that. “Sorry, but I feel a little defensive about all this. My name’s Susannah, but I am sure you already heard my whole life story by now.”

She offered her hand back and was surprised when he turned it over and kissed the back of it.

She snatched it back as fast as she could, shocked he would be so forward.

“Not quite, but you can fill me in on those baby years while I put some suntan lotion on you.” He gave Susannah a cocky smile and sat down next to her.

Susannah glanced towards the patio to see he was right. Her dad had a rather nasty expression on his face, too. Well, he arranged this whole mess in the first place. You would think he would want her schmoozing with the men.

Served him right.

“Okay, but I get to help him kick your ass if you try anything, and you only do my back.” She rolled over on her tummy to bare her back. Immediately, his hands swept over her skin, smearing the cool lotion over the bare skin.

“Oh, he probably would be happy to just fire me.”

“You work for my dad?” she murmured, enjoying the way his large hands massaged the lotion into her skin.

“Yeah, I’m his personal assistant.”

Not the usual type of guest to these types of things. She was curious why her father would invite an employee. “How did he wrangle you here?”

“I volunteered.”

“You know this is a plot to marry us all off, right? You come to the party, and the next thing you know Daddy’s standing at the altar with a shotgun. I didn’t think there could be so many willing victims,” she grumbled.

“Well, actually I worked on a special project this last month. I know all about his plans, and it doesn’t involve forcing you to do anything. You are going to make your own choices.”

She peeked her head up. “Why don’t you tell me what you mean?”

His face reddened, highlighting his freckles and his nervousness under her sudden scrutiny.

He looked flustered and his face had grown bright red. “No, I think I’ve said too much already. It’s not my place.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll talk to my dad and get you fired?”

“No.”

“Maybe you should be.”

“I don’t think you could be that mean.”

“You are pretty cocky, mister. Where do you get off thinking you know me? For all you know, I could enjoy having you kicked to the curb just for the fun of it.”

Now, she was beginning to get pissed off. It wasn’t just that silly, know-it-all grin on his face, but the fact he knew what was going to happen this weekend and he was withholding information from her.

It infuriated her to be kept in the dark and to have that know-it-all laughing at her. Susannah stood up and removed her sunglasses.

The lotion fell to the ground when she pushed his chest and backed him towards the pool. “Do you know something, Ethan?”

“No, what?”

“I don’t like you.”

“Why not?” His eyebrows arched curiously. Apparently, he was not told off very often by a woman.

“Do you really want to know, because I don’t think you do.”

“Of course.”

“Well, let’s start with the fact that you’re a cocky know-it-all who thinks he can marry into money by courting his boss’s daughter.” She kept pushing his chest with her fingers over and over again until they were at the edge of the pool. “Its men like you that are the reason I can never get married.”

By this time everyone at the pool party was staring, and Susannah was beyond caring. She gave him one last hard push and watched him teeter over into the pool. Unfortunately one of his arms tangled with hers, pulling her with him into the crystal-blue water.

Furious, she pushed him away and shot to the surface gasping for breath and a little dignity. Her hat was floating on the surface nearby. Angrily, she grabbed it and stalked out of the pool. She picked up her towel and wrapped it around her body, holding her head high with all the decorum she could muster, and stalked away from all the onlookers and the wrath of her parents.

For now, things would be fine, but when they caught up with her, she knew there was going to be hell to pay.

***

Thanks for checking it out and I hope you enjoy it. :) Remember if you liked the little preview you will be able to buy the book from my author page on Bookstrand June 6th: